“Riley,” an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, weaves swiftly through the charred bits of what’s left of a cherished family home in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires. Hell-bent on his mission to find the missing resident’s body, Riley is a human remains detection (HRD) dog with his owner and partner, Peter Sellas, USR CA-TF6 Canine Search Specialist.
Also known as a cadaver dog, Riley and Sellas work with the California Task Force 6 Urban Search and Rescue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Sponsored and deployed by the Riverside, California Fire Department, the team responds to calls to locate human remains after disasters worldwide.
Riley and Sellas are responding to a call from first responders who smelled something at the burn site in Altadena, a community 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. After 100 mph, Santa Ana winds ignited dry brush and prompted embers to explode into flames, destroying 40,000 acres, killing at least 27 people, and destroying more than 12,300 structures.
Sharon Gattas
Once the medium-sized Belgian Malinois picks up the unique scent of a body, the dog moves quickly through the rubble. Usually, the people Riley is looking for are unrecognizable, so he relies on scent. Riley navigates challenging terrain and potentially hazardous environments including materials such as broken glass, metal, and sharp objects. Riley’s sure-footed, rapid pace avoids disturbing remains.
Cremains Detection Dogs like Riley can also pick up and distinguish the distinct scent of a cremated loved one or ash in the absence of other human traces, even in a house destroyed in a wildfire.
Riley might wear dog booties to protect his feet depending on the terrain the team is assigned to search. While some dogs don’t like wearing booties and try to chew or shake them off, Riley leaves them on. “He must know his feet are sensitive,” Sellas says.
The dog kept booties on when the team searched Maui after the fires there. The sun was hot, and the ground was naturally warm, so Riley’s footpads needed protection.
“Searching for someone who has died in a fire is the hardest type of search an HRD dog can perform,” says Sellas. “Everything around the body is seared and emits a competing odor. Also, as the body decomposes, it emits a different odor through each stage, and Riley needs to distinguish the human part.”
Trained to compartmentalize the odors, Riley capably pinpoints the exact one he’s looking for. While humans have six million scent receptors in their noses, dogs have about 200 to 300 million. These scent receptors enable the dog to detect the difference between a dead animal and a dead person. Riley is trained not to pick up the scent of expired animals.
The handler divides the search area into grids and puts the dog in every search area. Once he locates a body, Riley stares at Sellas. “He expects a treat,” Sellas says. For Riley, receiving a tug toy is the prize for walking and sniffing his way through anything. “I’ll toss it or let him tug on it, depending on the surface we’re on,” says Sellas.
When deployed, the team works an 8-hour day with several breaks for water and rest throughout the session. Sometimes, an assignment lasts 21 days. “That’s why we need a dog with stamina who is determined to go after the find,” Sellas says.
Originally abandoned in the Palmdale, California desert, the Belgian Malinois was found by Cathy Riley and went into rescue. “To credit Cathy for finding this dog, we named him after her,” Sellas says.
Sharon Gattas
While Riley is a human remains dog, Sellas’ other Belgian Malinois, “Cane,” is trained as a live-find dog. “A live-find dog will only alert to someone missing but alive,” Sellas says. “A dog can find living or deceased people, but not both.”
Sellas trained both dogs within the FEMA system. “It took a year to get Riley up and running,” Sellas says. Riley’s exemplary temperament, high drive, and high nerve strength—the dog’s ability to handle stress, pressure, and unfamiliar conditions without anxiety or erratic behavior—make him an excellent candidate for this work.
“He’s a unicorn,” Sellas says. “For an active dog in high-stress situations, it’s unusual to like other dogs and people, but he does.”
A Belgian Malinois belongs to AKC’s Herding Group and is naturally confident, intelligent, and hardworking. Versatile and an independent thinker, this breed was a livestock herder in the northwestern region of Belgium. The breed is frequently chosen for challenging jobs because of its high work drive and ability to solve problems and form tight bonds with human companions.
Sharon Gattas
Working long, challenging hours together has helped Sellas and Riley establish a strong relationship. Sellas began his career in search dog work 20 years ago.
“I grew up with hunting dogs. When I looked for a new bird dog, I met someone involved in search and rescue, and I fell in love with the idea of doing that with a dog,” Sellas says.
After losing his own house to a wildfire in 2003, he knows how this job brings peace of mind to people who have lost loved ones.
“I know the feeling and what it’s like to come home to a house that’s totally gone,” Sellas says. “To continue doing what I do, I emotionally separate from all the loss and focus instead on how lucky I am to have this great dog. I’m blessed to go to work with Riley every day. How can you beat that?”
The post Belgian Malinois ‘Riley’ Searches Through Ashes to Find Human Remains After Los Angeles Fires appeared first on American Kennel Club.
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Also known as a cadaver dog, Riley and Sellas work with the California Task Force 6 Urban Search and Rescue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Sponsored and deployed by the Riverside, California Fire Department, the team responds to calls to locate human remains after disasters worldwide.
A Natural Super Sniffer
Riley and Sellas are responding to a call from first responders who smelled something at the burn site in Altadena, a community 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. After 100 mph, Santa Ana winds ignited dry brush and prompted embers to explode into flames, destroying 40,000 acres, killing at least 27 people, and destroying more than 12,300 structures.
Sharon Gattas
Once the medium-sized Belgian Malinois picks up the unique scent of a body, the dog moves quickly through the rubble. Usually, the people Riley is looking for are unrecognizable, so he relies on scent. Riley navigates challenging terrain and potentially hazardous environments including materials such as broken glass, metal, and sharp objects. Riley’s sure-footed, rapid pace avoids disturbing remains.
Cremains Detection Dogs like Riley can also pick up and distinguish the distinct scent of a cremated loved one or ash in the absence of other human traces, even in a house destroyed in a wildfire.
Riley might wear dog booties to protect his feet depending on the terrain the team is assigned to search. While some dogs don’t like wearing booties and try to chew or shake them off, Riley leaves them on. “He must know his feet are sensitive,” Sellas says.
The dog kept booties on when the team searched Maui after the fires there. The sun was hot, and the ground was naturally warm, so Riley’s footpads needed protection.
The Most Challenging Work
“Searching for someone who has died in a fire is the hardest type of search an HRD dog can perform,” says Sellas. “Everything around the body is seared and emits a competing odor. Also, as the body decomposes, it emits a different odor through each stage, and Riley needs to distinguish the human part.”
Trained to compartmentalize the odors, Riley capably pinpoints the exact one he’s looking for. While humans have six million scent receptors in their noses, dogs have about 200 to 300 million. These scent receptors enable the dog to detect the difference between a dead animal and a dead person. Riley is trained not to pick up the scent of expired animals.
The handler divides the search area into grids and puts the dog in every search area. Once he locates a body, Riley stares at Sellas. “He expects a treat,” Sellas says. For Riley, receiving a tug toy is the prize for walking and sniffing his way through anything. “I’ll toss it or let him tug on it, depending on the surface we’re on,” says Sellas.
When deployed, the team works an 8-hour day with several breaks for water and rest throughout the session. Sometimes, an assignment lasts 21 days. “That’s why we need a dog with stamina who is determined to go after the find,” Sellas says.
From Abandoned to Celebrated
Originally abandoned in the Palmdale, California desert, the Belgian Malinois was found by Cathy Riley and went into rescue. “To credit Cathy for finding this dog, we named him after her,” Sellas says.
Sharon Gattas
While Riley is a human remains dog, Sellas’ other Belgian Malinois, “Cane,” is trained as a live-find dog. “A live-find dog will only alert to someone missing but alive,” Sellas says. “A dog can find living or deceased people, but not both.”
Sellas trained both dogs within the FEMA system. “It took a year to get Riley up and running,” Sellas says. Riley’s exemplary temperament, high drive, and high nerve strength—the dog’s ability to handle stress, pressure, and unfamiliar conditions without anxiety or erratic behavior—make him an excellent candidate for this work.
“He’s a unicorn,” Sellas says. “For an active dog in high-stress situations, it’s unusual to like other dogs and people, but he does.”
Herding Dog Heritage Helps
A Belgian Malinois belongs to AKC’s Herding Group and is naturally confident, intelligent, and hardworking. Versatile and an independent thinker, this breed was a livestock herder in the northwestern region of Belgium. The breed is frequently chosen for challenging jobs because of its high work drive and ability to solve problems and form tight bonds with human companions.
Sharon Gattas
Working long, challenging hours together has helped Sellas and Riley establish a strong relationship. Sellas began his career in search dog work 20 years ago.
“I grew up with hunting dogs. When I looked for a new bird dog, I met someone involved in search and rescue, and I fell in love with the idea of doing that with a dog,” Sellas says.
After losing his own house to a wildfire in 2003, he knows how this job brings peace of mind to people who have lost loved ones.
“I know the feeling and what it’s like to come home to a house that’s totally gone,” Sellas says. “To continue doing what I do, I emotionally separate from all the loss and focus instead on how lucky I am to have this great dog. I’m blessed to go to work with Riley every day. How can you beat that?”
The post Belgian Malinois ‘Riley’ Searches Through Ashes to Find Human Remains After Los Angeles Fires appeared first on American Kennel Club.
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